Going to the food store and buying some milk would seem, to the untrained eye, a simple enough task; the aisles are organized by product, bags for your purchase are supplied, so all you really need to do is pay. There is something changing about grocery stores in the past half decade or so: reusable bags have been being sold at the checkout counters. No, this isn’t some sneaky way to get consumers to pay for colorful bags instead of using the free ones handed out; it’s a stab at an environmental problem that not enough people are taking action on. When asked to choose “paper or plastic”, the cashier is asking a trick question, for the right answer is “neither”. While the majority of shoppers continue to believe that paper bags are the more environmentally friendly choice to choosing plastic, they too are mistaken; not only do paper bags take more energy to make, but they also take up approximately five times more landfill space. This is no excuse to merely use plastic bags, however. The rising problem of plastic harming our world is shown on just about every beach and ocean in the world. Even when thrown away, plastic bags are so light that it is easy for them to just blow into the oceans or other areas where they then harm and endanger animals. Plastic not only chokes said animals, but it also begins to break down inside their stomachs, causing the harmful chemicals used to make the bags to enter their digestive tract. This same reaction occurs when plastic ends up in the oceans and is not eaten right away; as the bag biodegrades, these same chemicals are released into the ocean where marine animals then swallow or breathe them in. While at the beach, it may not appear that there are many of these dangerous and deathly bags lying around; in fact, it may seem like this is an overreaction. Proof of just how many bags end up in the oceans is shown in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (that’s right, it even has its own name), which is approximately the size of Texas, containing 3.5 million tons of trash. Its main contributor? Plastic bags that are either not properly disposed of, or are blown out of trash cans and into harm’s way. With all these reasons against plastic bags, it may seem almost impossible for stores to continue using them today. Evidence of the harms of plastic bags are shown in some areas of the world where plastic bag bans have been put into act. This means that shoppers must bring their own reusable bags when they shop. These bans are a great way to act locally and force citizens to look at how harmful we are to our own home. While the use of paper and plastic bags will never be entirely gone, it is important to note the incredible harmful impact these simple, everyday products have on our lives. Alternatives are staring consumers right in the face: reusable bags are currently sold at just about every food store, are cheap, and help the environment in an unprecedented number of ways. All together now….“Paper or Plastic?” “NEITHER!”
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Teenager Solves Massive Environmental Problem
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Good Websites for the Cause
Great Video!
Friday, May 21, 2010
FAQs
Case Studies on Plastic Bags
Title: Microbial Answer to Plastic Pollution?
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100329075919.htm
The pieces plastic bags that end up polluting the oceans are deadly to many species; certain research today, however, shows that this problem may come to an end in the future. The size of the plastic fragments decreases over time from natural weathering, but it is the smallest “microplastics” (5mm or less) that do the most damage, as they absorb chemicals that are then transferred to sea animals when ingested. An investigation, led by Dr. Mark Osborn at Sheffield, is based around the microbes that attach themselves to the polyethylene on the microplastics in the ocean. Dr. Osborne is interested in how this relationship between polyethylene and microplastics varies across different oceans. This research could potentially lead to new information as to how we can globally reduce plastic litter in the oceans. Jesse Harrison, also researching this phenomenon, says microbes “play a key role in the sustaining of all marine life and are the most likely of all organisms to break down toxic chemicals, or even the plastics themselves…This kind of research is also helping us unravel the global environmental impacts of plastic pollution," he said.
The Battle of the Bag
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/the-battle-of-the-bag/2008/02/24/1203788136226.html?page=4
The Pacific Garbage Patch, Source: http://students.umf.maine.edu/kanedc/public.www/
There is no doubt that Africa is an extremely large continent…but what would you think if you had a garbage pile that big? While it may seem impossible to have such a large amount of garbage floating in our ocean (what about recycling?), the reality is not a pretty one. In the Pacific Ocean there is a continent not many know about, called the Pacific Garbage Patch, and it is indeed the size of Africa, and growing. Trash that is discarded, even in trash cans, is blown by the wind and into the ocean, where the current pushes it to the center of the Pacific Ocean where it sits until it either biodegrades (taking thousands of years), or is met by an unsuspecting sea animal that either chokes on it, consumes it, or gets caught in it and bring it to another location. Not surprisingly, the majority of this trash is plastic bags which are entangled in hundreds of sea animals. While there are beach cleanups that gather some amount of the plastic bag litter on beaches, the only way to completely rid the Pacific Ocean of this unwanted floating mass is by stopping the problem at its source and illuminating plastic bag usage all together. Until that happens, plastic bags should be reused as many times as they can so that they can stay out of our waters longer. Do not be mistaken- plastic bags don’t have to end up here! There is plastic bag recycling that saves both landfill and ocean space. Make the smart choice…reduce, reuse, recycle.
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: Litter Made to Degrade
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060721181315.htm
An additive that can make plastic decompose at a faster rate by natural weathering such as the sun and water, was created in 2006 by the company Nor-X Industry AS. Oddly enough, the company, along with its sister company, started creating the product when it was attempting to create a collar that could be put around the necks of the deceased in order to make them look nicer in their coffins. While this particular experiment didn’t work, Nor-X shifted their goal by using their knowledge for biodegradable materials to try and save what is not yet dead: our environment. A regular plastic bag would take years to even begin to decompose, and a thousand years to be completely gone; this new additive, however, can cause the bags to degrade in shorter time than that of an apple. After two weeks in the sun the bags would still have ninety percent of their strength, but after five weeks there will only be small, almost untraceable pieces. The newer, greener, plastic bags would be friendly to the environmentally friendly, as the aids in the bags would merely be “assisting nature” in the usually extensive biodegrading job.
‘Green’ Plastics Could Help Reduce Carbon Footprint
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090211122145.htm
The University of Missouri is looking further into the already suggested use of plants as plastic. The bags would be made of plant starch and soy protein, and would largely reduce the 20 million tons of US plastics put in landfills every year. When enzymes are combined a polymer, known as polyhdroxybutyrate-co-polyhydroxyvalerate, or PHBV, results, and this can be used to produce a wide range of plastics. When the polymer is disposed of, it biodegrades into carbon dioxide and water by bacteria in soil. There is still much testing that needs to be done in order to assure the effectiveness of the new plastic bags, but it shows a new step towards a greener future and less buildup in landfills.
